My first post for Touchbase, Top 15 Twitter Acronyms, enjoyed many kindRTs on Twitter and earned terrific comments.@stevegarfield,@melissapierce,@gregverdino and@jeffcutlerbrainstormed a new one for sending a your own tweet again: RERUN or abbreviated, RR. @LEMills was even kind enough to correct my grammar: those were mostly abbreviations, not acronyms.
(There’s a mix of both below.)
The most clear and concise feedback, however, came from @rands: “No WTF FTL: http://bit.ly/r61l ” As Laura wrote when she posted his Tweet in the comments, ‘A true point made by many… there are lotsa lotsa lotsa acronyms with F in them that we did not include.‘
This is the ‘Part II’ post that she suggested. As you might gather from the title, this post may well be NSFW, though only if explanations for smutty abbreviations could set off your obscenity filters but when used right, can also land you new twitter followers.
There won’t be any pictures or videos that will get you in trouble. In fact, my hope in writing this is to SAVE you from trouble. Clicking on the wrong link in a Tweet could land you in a world of trouble if you then land on a pornography website from a work machine.
For that reason alone, knowing that NSFW = Not Safe For Work is crucial. Following are nine more NSFW abbreviations that you’ll find on Twitter, along with chat rooms, IM, email headlines and social networking forums. Many of them are on the list of chat and text messaging abbreviationsI updated last year. (I know their inclusion is one of the reasons that page has stayed popular.) They’re listed in order of frequency of use, as measured byTweetVolume.
WTF = What the F–k. As ThinkGeek wrote, ‘it’s not always possible to speak your mind on the Internet. So cyber-culture has developed a whole new way to curse and blaspheme without necessarily conjuring up the negativity associated with the whole phrases themselves.’ And as @rands pointed out,WTF should have been in the top 15 overall list. It’s a instant, concise expression of incredulity and critique.
OMFG = Oh My F___ing God. Like OMG, only stronger. The expression is nowhere near as common as WTF but expresses much the same sentiment.
LMAO = Laughing My Ass Off. Also LMFAO, for special emphasis. This comes up a fair bit, no doubt because there is plenty to laugh about on Twitter and in the wide world.
WTH = What the Hell. This expresses the same sentiment as WTF. Whether it’s stronger or not depends on how you feel about Hell or f—ing.
SOB = Son of a B–ch. At least, it used to until @lizstrauss rebranded SOBas Successful and Outstanding Blogger. As it turns out, being an SOB on Twitter might just be a good thing.
NFW = No F—ing Way. As in, ‘no way, no how, not ever’ or a stronger version of OMG. @markpinc was surprised about a a Bay Bridge closing, for instance. As they say, SH (s–t happens).
STFU = Shut The F–k Up. Also STHU, with Hell standing in. This could be used as a stronger OMG — but it can also be a precursor to someone blocking an account on Twitter.
FUBAR = F–ked Up Beyond All Repair. FUBAR originated with the US Army, where many situations ended up FUBAR’ed. According to Wikipedia, ‘electronics engineers report that SNAFU and FUBAR were used before World War II by repairmen sent out to repair phone booths. You might remember it from Saving Private Ryan.
SNAFU = Situation Normal All F–ked Up. SNAFU, referenced above, is another geeky notation of resignation to an ugly reality, industry event or other news.
Bonus: RTFM = Read The F–king Manual. This is the classic complaint of a sysadmin or help desk associate to colleagues. On the Web, it’s about reading the FAQ (RTFF) or the question (RTFQ). I wouldn’t be surprised if reading the tweet (RTFT) showed up soon, either.
There are, of course, many other NSFW abbreviations that include dirty words, including those for the 7 words you can’t say on television. If you know of another one that is often used on Twitter that everyone should know about, let us all know in the comments.
Other abbreviations are more likely found in chat rooms than on Twitter, like TDTM (Talk Dirty To Me), RUH (Are You Horny), NIFOC (Naked in Front of Computer). Given that there are a growing list of porn stars that Twitter, that may change. And yes, that last link is NSFW!
Alexander Howard is a Cambridge-based technology editor for a B2B IT media company. Until this December, he was the associate editor for WhatIs.com, the online IT encyclopedia.